


The Hunter's Mark

by Amrynth



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, It gets interrupted before it can be a threesome, Post-Canon, Sort of Polyamory, Why am I so bad at tags?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:00:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21946240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amrynth/pseuds/Amrynth
Summary: When she's summoned to Whitestone; Keyleth would never guess what Percy and Vex'ahlia are inviting her to.
Relationships: Keyleth/Vex'ahlia (Critical Role), Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia
Comments: 11
Kudos: 102
Collections: Critmas Exchange 2019





	The Hunter's Mark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thesunsaid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesunsaid/gifts).



> 2019's Critmas piece for singedsun! I hope this ticks your boxes and tickles your fancy. I know I had a lot of fun working on this!
> 
> I feel like I wrote the middle of something because my heart of hearts knows there's a prequel and a sequel to this. Someday, maybe, I'll try to carve out some time to give voice to those other bits.

The town of Whitestone offered little threat to Keyleth, guarded as it was. She wasn’t sure why she had been summoned to the castle; Percy had reassured her in the message that it wasn’t anything dire, but she had responded quickly and opened a portal between one of the trees in Zephrah to the Sun Tree in the village square. 

Keyleth had found some confidence since their time adventuring together, but she still had a manner of stepping out of the tree like she was very sorry for intruding despite having been invited. Tall and slender and fair, Keyleth hadn’t worn her mantle, instead showing up with her crown of antlers and a simple robe. 

“Hi Sun Tree,” she had her hand up against the tree she’d stepped from, palm flat against the bark while she talked to it.

Well hey there Kiki, long time no see. The Sun Trees words were, as always directed at her telepathically. Why not just come chill with the Sun Tree?

Keyleth smiled at the tree and leaned her head against it. She wasn’t sure why she’d been called to Whitestone, asked to come without the usual entourage of the Voice. But it had been pleasant to slip out of Zephrah, reminding her of her past and when she had been part of Vox Machina. Not that it had ever changed, they were still Vox Machina, but they all were off living their own lives now. If Percy or Vex needed her, she would be there without hesitation.

“Keyleth,” Vex’ahlia wasn’t hiding so much as just being quiet while she soaked in the familiar sight of Keyleth. She wore simple leathers, carried a simple bow, and had her hair in a single braid down one shoulder. It wasn’t as though she would be unrecognized in Whitestone, but her garb made it clear she was not about on official business. 

Keyleth jumped when she heard her name. “Vex! Oh my gods! Were you there the whole time? Did I look like a crazy person just now talking to a tree?”

“Just a bit. But it was the good crazy. The endearing one,” she assured her. 

“There’s a good crazy?”

“Well there’s definitely a bad one.” Vex laughed softly and pushed up from where she was leaning against the lamp. 

Keyleth removed her hand from the Sun Tree and crossed the gap between herself and Vex’ahlia. Out of habit, and probably because she was nervous, Keyleth held out her hand as though she was meeting some dignitary to Zephrah, offering it for Vex to shake.

“Keyleth, you’re shitting me, aren’t you? Come here.” Vex’ahlia took the offered hand but only so that she could pull Keyleth toward her and into a hug.

Whatever initial stiffness there was of two friends seeing one another after a long time melted away as Keyleth folded into the warmth of Vex’s embrace. She’d been so used to being the Voice, being the leader with the Air Ashari that Keyleth had forgotten how good it felt to just be Keyleth and not merely the savior of the world. She wrapped around the other half-elf, surprised by the strength of the rush of emotions she felt on seeing her. 

“Keyleth, darling, you’re shaking,” Vex’ahlia stroked her back, blithely unaware of what her reassuring presence meant. 

“It’ll be gone in a minute. Just, give me a minute okay?” Keyleth leaned her cheek against the top of Vex’s head, getting control of her emotions slowly. 

“As much time as you need, but we can take this inside. Percy’s getting the good wine out,” she answered. There was a specific window in which Kamordah wine was perfect and it seemed such a waste of gold to let that window pass.

Keyleth laughed and straightened up to push her hair back from her face. “Of course, the good wine. What’s the occasion?”

Vex shrugged, enigmatic and giving nothing away. “Percy will tell you all about it. Nothing dire, don’t look like that.”

Keyleth hadn’t been aware her face was doing a thing but she tried to make it stop and only managed to make Vex laugh. That was probably good too. 

“Why don’t you have a teleportation circle in the castle?” Keyleth asked. 

“Percy says it’s a security risk and I can’t say that I blame him. We’ve had enough trouble getting the damned temple beneath the castle cleared out as it is.” Vex fingered the string on her bow, looking thoughtfully up toward the skeleton of the clocktower that was gradually filling out. It had been thirty years work and she wished more of Percy’s time had been devoted to something as peaceful and beautiful as his clock and less to the darkness beneath their home.

“It’s really coming along,” Keyleth offered, following her gaze to the clocktower. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“He thinks it will maybe get done in the next decade. Percy is always looking to the future,” Vex said. She sounded wistful and Keyleth glanced at her profile, trying to determine if there was more behind her words. 

They made their way to the castle without incident, catching up with the last time they had seen mutual friends and other members of Vox Machina. Vex was more than happy to hear about one of her sons, who had gone to Zephrah to study with the druids and also pass on how the other children were doing with their various studies. 

“Keyleth, do snowdrops bloom out of season in Zephrah as well?” Vex asked as the smaller kitchen entrance closed behind them. It was too much work to use the big, central doors and they didn’t run the sort of castle where either Vex or Percy was uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the castle staff. 

Beside her, Keyleth laughed, snorting slightly and making Vex join her. “I don’t think they’ll ever stop. They’re mostly outside my window but they’re all over the place.”

Vex breathed a sigh, reaching over to take Keyleth’s hand. “I miss him.’

“I do too,” Keyleth looked over at her and smiled. “But he wouldn’t have wanted us to mourn him forever, would he?”

“I’m hardly in mourning. But I still miss him and if Vax’ildan has a problem with me thinking about him let my brother show up and tell me himself,” Vex said it like a challenge but, of course, there was no response. 

Keyleth gave her hand a squeeze. “I miss him too.”

They found their way to the informal dining hall, fire already in place and warming the room. It wasn’t winter but this high in the mountains it was almost always cold in Whitestone. Percy stood by the fire, leaning one arm on the mantle while he gazed into the flames. 

“Darling, look who I found talking to the Sun Tree like a complete loon,” Vex’ahlia said, bringing her husband out of her reverie. 

Percy turned to the two women entering the room and smiled at them both. His cane was leaned against the side of the fireplace within easy reach and, unlike the two of them, he wore an ornately embroidered jacket that fell to his knees, elegant pants tucked into leather boots. Vex smiled on seeing her husband, he’d aged elegantly for someone who said he’d already had the soul by the time he was twenty. She didn’t think he was wrong, he’d been physically young, but old and angry in his heart when Percy met Vox Machina. Time had helped smooth him into a mature and handsome man. He caught her eyes and smiled at Vex and, just for a moment, they were the only two people in all of Exandria. 

“Keyleth, welcome to Whitestone,” he turned to their guest and smiled, warm as the fire he’d been standing by. 

Keyleth beamed at him, happy to see another familiar face. Percy and Vex’ahlia were still one of the handsomest couples she’d ever seen, she loved watching their faces light up when they looked at one another. “Percy, oh I’m so happy to see you. How are you?” 

“I find that retirement has suited me well,” Percy’s smile softened as he spoke, arms wide and inviting Keyleth.

She didn’t hesitate to dash across the room and hug him, grinning when she thumped lightly against his chest. He was thinner than she remembered but still solid on his feet, though the cane leaning on the mantle didn’t escape her notice. “Your clocktower is looking beautiful.”

“You should see it in the daylight,” he suggested, hugging Keyleth close. She smelled like nature and trees and a place warmer than Whitestone reached except at the peak of summer.

“Well I’m not leaving now and I like to teach the trainees to never drink and travel by tree. You do have room for me tonight, right?” Keyleth asked, smiling. 

Percy glanced over her shoulder at Vex’ahlia and there was something unsaid between them that Keyleth didn’t quite catch. “Yes, of course. Have a seat, or we can move to one of the sitting rooms if you’re more comfortable?” 

“This is fine,” Keyleth laughed. “Vex said something about fancy wine?”

“Well, there’s something we should talk about first,” Percy said, looking at Vex again before returning his gaze to Keyleth. 

“Is it something serious? What’s wrong? Who do we need to kill?” Her face fell, looking between Vex’ahlia and Percy as she tried to read what this unspoken conversation taking place between them was.

“No, darling, nothing so dramatic,” Vex spoke up, putting hands on Keyleth’s shoulders and guiding her over toward a comfortable chair near the fire. “Sit down.”

Keyleth allowed herself to be ushered to a chair, slightly confused, before her face shifted in a scowl that surprised both Percy and Vex. “Whoever he is, I’m not interested. I’m not seeing him.” 

“What?” Vex laughed, dropping gracefully into a seat of her own. “What are you going on about?”

“I don’t need anyone to set me up with some guy. Scanlan keeps telling me he’s found the perfect man but he’s never… he’s never what I’m looking for. And then Taryon keeps sending people to Zephrah and then sending these bloated letters of introduction that are really just resumes but they get in the way after the fact. I’m just tired of… people who aren’t already family. What’s wrong with liking my friends?” Keyleth’s face softened as she spoke, the scowl wearing away until she looked more confused than angry. Another of those looks exchanged and she knew she was close to something. 

“Well. About that. It’s not a man, Keyleth. Well, it’s not some stranger we want to introduce you to,” Percy said. His tone was that of a man picking his way through a conversation with the care of a rogue picking their way through a trapped room. 

Keyleth crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “I’m feeling more and more like I need that wine before we talk about this.”

Vex smiled at her and then gave Percy a long look. “This was his idea.”

Percy laughed, soft and breathy. He moved around to lean on Vex’ahlia’s chair and Keyleth was reminded again how good they both looked together like that. Lit by the warm firelight so that the shadows softened any flaws, looking at her with the same sort of warmth. 

“What if- no I should start differently. Keyleth, nothing has to change if you don’t want it to, but this is the sort of question we were more comfortable posing if you hadn’t partaken in any wine yet,” Percy paused here, watching Keyleth as though trying to gauge her reaction. 

“Just ask her, darling.”

“Yes. What if it was us?” 

Keyleth just blinked at them, quite certain she had misunderstood the question. “What if what was you?” 

To her surprise, Percy blushed, looking to Vex for help. Vex avoided his gaze by watching Keyleth and then having to flick something invisible from the front of her shirt. “What if the person we wanted to introduce to you, as a possible partner, was us?” 

It was a good think Keyleth was sitting because she almost fell out of her chair as it was. Percy’s ability to turn pink was nothing as her face grew warm and flushed and she immediately covered it with her fingers. It would be a lie to say she hadn’t at least thought about either of them in the past, but when they’d chosen each other she’d given herself to believe they were no longer an option. 

“What? Why?” 

Vex seemed the only one unflustered by the conversation, cool and leaning against the chair she was seated in. But then that was Vex’ahlia under pressure. “We thought that maybe you didn’t want someone new.” 

“I’m old, Keyleth,” Percy said. His voice was final about it and brooked little argument. 

“You’re not old, darling, you’ve aged wonderfully,” Vex responded regardless. 

“But saving the world didn’t stop time. And I know that I will rest easier knowing that my wife has someone who loves her as much as I do,” he continued, giving Vex the briefest of smiles to acknowledge her addition to his explanation. 

Keyleth’s eyes darted between them, waiting for the punchline. Waiting for the moment where they were both pulling her leg. “You really- That’s a- Can I think about this? Can I get really drunk and think about this?” 

“Of course. But, as Percy said, this is the sort of decision you should make sober. Once we open the bottle of wine, even if you do agree it doesn’t actually count,” Vex said, turning her attention to Keyleth.

Having the hunter focus on her made Keyleth feel squirmy in a very different manner than she was used to. She was uncomfortable being the center of attention even as the Voice of the Tempest, but Vex’s gaze was making her feel warm and flushed and it wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable. What was it about the Vessar twins that made her react like this? 

It was Percy who finally moved, shifting from where he was leaned against the chair to walk with the slightest limp to the table where the wine had been airing. Percy was the sort of fancy person who knew to air his wine. 

Keyleth was still trying to sort her thoughts out when he brought her a glass, but she immediately set it down on the table beside her chair. “What if-” Both heads turned toward her, a second glass of wine in Vex’s hand and Keyleth felt her stomach tighten being the center of their attention now. It wasn’t bad, but she was turning red in the face again while she tried to formulate words. 

“What if um. What if tonight was a test. To- to see if we even like it. And then, tomorrow, when I haven’t had anything to drink, we can talk about it again and see if you- if we- if this is still a good idea because maybe it’s not a bad idea but I’m not sure if-” She knew she was babbling and instead of continuing to talk, Keyleth grabbed her wine glass and drank it all in one go. “Wow. This is good.” 

There was a beat and then Vex’ahlia turned to her husband with a wide smile, “I told you she’d say yes. I’m full of the best ideas.”  
Both Keyleth and Percy exchanged a look, now on the same wavelength that moments ago she had been claiming the whole thing to be Percy’s idea. Percy cracked a smile first and then Keyleth was laughing, warm from their company and from the wine. 

“So what should we do now?” Keyleth asked, putting her wine glass back on the table now that it was empty. 

Vex took a long, slow sip of her wine and handed it to Percy before getting up and crossing the distance between their chairs. She watched how Keyleth’s eyes followed the sway of her hips before coming up to her eyes and smiling almost shy up at her. 

“Do you want another glass?” Vex asked, stroking one finger up from the collar of Keyleth’s robes up to her chin. 

It had been some time since anyone had been welcome to touch her like that and Keyleth felt a shiver down her spine as soon as Vex’s finger brushed along her skin. It was silly, they’d touched every time they’d seen one another for a long time, she wasn’t sure why it should be so different suddenly. Maybe because Vex hadn’t been looking at her like that, like prey, eyes bright and how had she not noticed how great her cleavage was when she’d arrived at the Sun Tree? 

“No I think I’ve had enough,” Keyleth said with a giggle, looking directly into Vex’s bosom and then back up at her. 

Vex’ahlia leaned and kissed her, light and teasing. Her lips tasted like delicious Kamordah wine and were softer than Keyleth had imagined they could be. When Vex pulled back, Keyleth tried to follow, wanting more of something she hadn’t even known she’d craved. 

“Not here. Come on, Keyleth,” Vex straightened back up and winked at her, slipping free of hands that tried to keep her from leaving. 

There wasn’t much that Keyleth could do but watch her leave. 

“A bit much sometimes,” Percy said, smiling warm and watching the same pleasant sight as Keyleth. 

“Is she- I mean. I didn’t know she was so…” she peeked up through her lashes at him. 

“Vex’ahlia knows what she wants, it’s something I love about her. Yes, she can be a bit much, but she likes someone who speaks up about what they want,” Percy explained. “But she is also safe to give up making decisions around her. Let someone else, in this case Vex, take control.”

Keyleth rose to her feet and, feeling emboldened by wine and Vex’s attention, leaned down to kiss Percy in the same soft, testing manner that she’d been kissed. His skin was soft and worn beneath her hand, but he responded to her kiss with the slightest parting of his lips. “Thank you, Percy.”

“You both mean the world to me. I don’t like seeing you alone anymore than I want her to be alone,” he said, the hand not holding his cane stroking her cheek. “Remember that it’s never too late to change your mind about something you agreed to. Vex was the one who taught me that; that I always have a choice no matter what.”

She smiled at him, beaming like the sun. “Do you really mean that?”

“Keyleth, you’re family. Of course I mean that,” he answered. “Now get along before my wife gets impatient. I’ll catch up.” 

Before he had to tell her twice, Keyleth kissed him one more time before running off toward the door Vex had left through. Percy watched her go as well, then picked up Vex’s half-full glass to sip the contents. Kamordah wine was good. Vex would be disappointed if he didn’t bring the bottle with, she did hate to waste gold. 

Keyleth jogged into the hall she’d seen Vex step into, not sure enough of her way around the castle to be certain which way Vex and Percy’s bedchamber was. She wasn’t even sure that was the room they were going to. But there was Vex’ahlia, waiting with her arms crossed beneath her chest and leaning against the wall. 

“Hi sorry did you have to wait? I was- there was Percy and,” she stopped and took a deep breath. Keyleth wished she had worn something better than the simple robes she’d picked, something as alluring as Vex’s leathers and how they hinted at her figure. “We were talking.”

Vex smiled though her arms remained folded like that. “Relax, darling, it’s okay. We invited you to join us, not just to join me. Percy can keep up, can’t you Percival?” 

Percy had the bottle of wine tucked beneath his arm, two glasses between his fingers on the same hand. The other hand held his cane and he certainly looked capable of keeping up with them. “As long as we aren’t fighting any dragons.” 

“No dragons tonight, just Keyleth’s ass,” Vex called back to him, grinning when Keyleth made a shocked noise. 

“You don’t have to fight it,” she said, scandalized. “It’s not that big. Is it?” 

“Hunt. Catch. Tame,” Vex promised, patting her on the rear. She moved, body relaxing and the arm slipping around Keyleth’s waist in a way that felt natural and comfortable. “Are you okay with that?” 

“Uh puh-Percy said that I could let you know if it wasn’t okay? At any point?” Keyleth asked, startled into needing confirmation.

“You remember the safe word, don’t you?” Vex asked. 

“Jenga,” Keyleth found herself whispering even though they were alone while they walked down the hallway. 

“I can be quite gentle, particularly your first time,” she answered, soft fingers on Keyleth’s cheek. Their closeness left both women flushed, finding one another’s eyes and almost sinking in.

“Wait, gentle was an option the first time?” Percy asked, not quite interrupting but joining the conversation.

Vex laughed and looked past Keyleth to him. “You were a special and very stubborn case, Percival. Keyleth is a flower and should be handled gently.”

They were both smiling and Keyleth could feel the love radiating from them, basking in the warmth of it. “I think that it’s been a while since I’ve done anything so. So gentle is- gentle would be good.”

“Of course Keyleth,” Vex turned that brilliant smile on her. 

They’d gone up a flight of stairs and Vex pushed open a door to reveal a comfortable bedroom with a wide bed and a view looking out at the courtyard. The bedding was all in shades of blue and white and Keyleth could get a very Vex feel from the space, it suited the clothing the ranger had preferred in her adventuring days. But it looked soft, it looked warm, and with a snap of his fingers Percy brought up a flame in the fireplace adding to the comfort of the space.

“I like it,” Keyleth carefully extracted herself from Vex’s arm and ran a hand through the curtains. 

“It’s Percy’s old room,” Vex said with a wicked smile. “When he was a boy. The master is another floor up but sometimes the stairs are hard on his knees, particularly in the winter.”

Percy shook his head a little and set the wine down on the side table. “Sometimes I like familiar. This room was mostly safe, I know where the secret door is at, at least.”

“Your bedroom had a secret door?” Keyleth briefly forgot entirely why they were there and scanned the room, looking for the secret entrance. 

“Keyleth,” Vex said, soft laughter in her voice.

“Yes, Vax?” It happened without her thinking about it and Keyleth froze, eyes flying wide. 

Percy paused in pouring wine again, looking up at the two of them with an expression that was impossible to read. 

Vex’ahlia went still, too still, frozen in a laugh and eyes on Keyleth but not seeing her. 

“Oh. I didn’t mean- I’m so sorry, I-” Keyleth fumbled for words, briefly trying to determine how she could salvage the situation. 

“I’m Vex. He’s Vax,” Vex interrupted Keyleth, eyes dark and distant and leaving Keyleth wishing for the warmth and laughter that had been there only seconds ago. “Keyleth, you know that this has nothing to do with my brother, right?”

She’d moved and Keyleth had missed it somehow, closing the distance between them so that Keyleth had her back against the wall. Over Vex’s shoulder she could see Percy return to pouring wine, the tension leaving his body. Although Vex was still every inch the hunter, Percy’s body language reassured Keyleth.

“Say my name, Keyleth.”

Keyleth took a deep, shuddering breath before whispering, like a prayer, “Vex’ahlia.” 

“Say it again,” she ordered, every inch a baroness. Though Keyleth was taller, she managed to raise her chin and seem to look down her nose at her, commanding the room in a way that Keyleth only dreamt of. 

“Vex.”

Vex leaned in and kissed her, mouth hard and demanding and nothing like the soft little kisses in the sitting room. Until that moment, Keyleth hadn’t been certain what Percy meant when he said it was safe to let go of making decisions with his wife. She surrendered her mouth to Vex, breathing her name between kisses and being rewarded with each tiny benediction with the return of Vex’s mouth on hers. For a moment Keyleth wasn’t sure what to do with her hands, but worrying about mussing Vex’s braid was soon driven from her mind and she tangled her fingers in her hair. 

When they finally came apart for more than a gasped breath, Keyleth was torn between watching Vex’s lips and getting lost in her eyes again. Her head was spinning with the rapidly drunk wine and the intoxicating feel of Vex’s lips and fingers. 

“Still remember you can tell me to stop?” Vex asked, sliding her hands down Keyleth’s bare arms. 

“Wh- oh. Yes, Vex.” She was determined to prove she knew which twin she was kissing, that she knew the difference between them. 

She smiled again, all the warmth back in her eyes and making it so easy to get lost there. Her fingers, light down Keyleth’s arms to her hands, drew her toward the bed behind them. “Do you mind Percy joining? Or is that going to be too much for tonight?” Vex gently pushed Keyleth to sit on the bed and then picked up one of the wine glasses to sip the contents. 

Keyleth glanced over at Percy, he’d arranged himself in a chair with a clear view of the bed and the fireplace. “I don’t- I don’t mind.” She had to be dreaming, there’d been a point she had definitely been crushing on both of the people in the room with her and she’d never considered both. But why not both? 

“Good. Strip.” Vex said, standing by her feet and taking on the aspect of a woman who was used to being obeyed. 

“What?” Keyleth blushed again but her hands had moved of their own volition to the ties of her robes before she could stop them. 

“I said, strip,” Vex repeated herself. 

Keyleth swallowed and chose to hold her ground, gazing up into Vex’s eyes. “You first.” 

Vex smiled rather than looking bothered by her answer. She plucked at the laces of her leathers and then leaned toward Keyleth. “If you’re feeling shy, help me with these. They’re so complicated to do by myself.” 

Ever helpful, Keyleth leaned forward to pull at the laces and was midway through unlacing Vex’s vest before she realized she’d been suckered. But she was so close to Vex and all her soft skin, she didn’t stop, pushing the leather vest from her torso so that she just wore the sweat-dampened linen shirt beneath it. She took one quick breath and leaned further to kiss the skin just at the edge of Vex’s shirt, grazing it with her lips. Vex’s skin was soft beneath her lips, impossibly so, and she pulled her closer by the waist. Fingers tangled into Keyleth’s red hair, the feeling of them against the nape of her neck just as much encouragement as the hitch in Vex’s breathing. 

Her own pulse was racing when she slid her fingers in through the laces on the front of Vex’s shirt and peeled the linen apart, exposing olive skin. Keyleth looked up toward Vex, not sure if she was seeking permission or just checking in with her partner. Above her, Vex was looking down at her with dark eyes with her fingers tangled in her hair still. 

“Well?” Vex asked, running her fingers through Keyleth’s hair and then tracing her thumb across her lips. 

Keyleth pursed her lips to follow the movement of her thumb. “You might have to tell me what to do. I haven’t really- with another woman.” 

Vex moved her hands and reached to push the shirt from her shoulders, throwing it across the foot of the bed. Half naked she was lithe and beautiful, soft stretch marks on her stomach and old scars not so much marring her body but adding to the story of it. Keyleth held her breath, allowing herself to indulge in touching Vex’s hips, her waist and trailing fingers up to stop before she reached her breasts. 

“Nervous?” 

Wordlessly, Keyleth nodded. 

“Is it because Percival is watching like the dirty old man he is?”

Both Keyleth and Vex looked over to where Percy was relaxed in a chair, glass of wine in his hand. Keyleth snorted at the affronted look on Percy’s face and ended up leaning her cheek against Vex’s stomach. 

“Hey now I’m not- well. I suppose you’re not wrong on any of those counts now that I think about it,” Percy retorted, but his expression softened when he continued. “If you’re uncomfortable, I can go to another room and you’re welcome to ravish my wife. Or perhaps, darling, you should take the lead, you’re very good at that.”

“I was just trying to- let her explore and set her own comfort level,” Vex responded, but her fingers were back to running through Keyleth’s curls gently. “Keyleth I’m sorry. I um, I’m not usually nervous and I’m a bit nervous so-” Rather than continue with words, Vex leaned down and kissed Keyleth, pushing her back onto the bed. 

Keyleth pulled herself up onto the bed properly, pulling her legs up when Vex’ahlia stepped back and worked on the ties for her pants. “You know, motherhood made my bottom bigger, but Percy quite likes it. But I had to rework all my non magical armor, it was dreadful and expensive.” She pushed her pants down and kicked them off and soon she was glorious and completely naked. 

“I think it’s a nice bottom,” Keyleth offered, not sure if she needed to support Vex on this or not. She’d always seemed confident and she’d always wished she could get a little closer to that. 

Percy spoke up from his chair, raising his wine glass like a toast. “As do I.”

“Thank you.” She patted the bottom in question and then crossed her arms beneath her breasts and fix Keyleth with a look. “Now. I think it’s your turn to get naked. Would you like some help?”

Keyleth’s stomach did a bit of a flip and she nodded. “Yes, please.”

Vex strolled back to the bed, taking her time and letting the anticipation well in Keyleth’s belly. Instead of getting up on the bed with her, Vex knelt on the floor where her legs dangled and began with her sandals. Her fingers were soft and light and brushed Keyleth’s calves as she untied the leather thongs, moving from one foot to the other. Keyleth felt very aware of her position and movement and sat up with her elbows for support to watch her. Those light fingers trailed up Keyleth’s legs, drawing the bottom of her robes with it until Vex stopped to kiss each knee.

“That uh, that feels nice.” Keyleth liked how the two fingers on Vex’s bow drawing hand had calluses that were rougher against her skin even when the rest of her fingers were so soft and light. 

“Oh yes?” Vex asked, looking mischievous and rising up the side of the bed. 

Her fingers trailed up Keyleth’s thighs this time, drawing the hem of her robe with them. To Keyleth’s frustration and relief, she released the hem just shy of her hips so there was a pool of fabric between her legs. She’d pressed her knees together and only relaxed them as Vex moved up onto the bed, kneeling with a knee on either side of her hips. 

“Oh, hi.” Keyleth put her hands on Vex’s thighs without thinking about it and then didn’t know what to do with them as soon as they were there. 

Above her, Vex smiled, the expression an invitation to look with her eyes, to investigate with her hands. Keyleth had shared a bath more than once with Vex in their journeying days, but this level of intimacy was completely new to her. She gave up trying to figure out where her hands belonged that was correct and stroked the ends of her fingers up Vex’s hips to the soft, silvery skin of old stretch marks. 

“What if I’m not good at this?” she asked. 

“Well I am used to the best,” Vex answered and then laughed at Keyleth’s expression. “I’m teasing you darling. Why would you be good when you haven’t done this? This is to see if it’s something you enjoy. Do you prefer something a little more traditional?” 

“What does that mean?” Keyleth asked, her eyes travelling down Vex’s body to dark patch of hair between her legs, the smooth expanse of her thighs and then back up to her face and eyes. 

“There are toys if you like cock, Keyleth.” Vex grinned, watching Keyleth turning scarlet as she parsed what Vex was telling her. “What do you think of when you touch yourself?” 

“Wh-what?” 

“Do you think about a man? A woman? Do you touch yourself?” Vex leaned down as she spoke, breasts coming to rest warm and heavy against Keyleth’s chest. Before she could even start to answer Vex was kissing her again and Keyleth grabbed onto that wonderful bottom to pull Vex closer. 

“Well?” Vex asked.

It took a moment for Keyleth to remember the question she’d been asked, head spinning with drink and warm lips and the weight of Vex pressed against her like that. 

“I- yes- oh! That’s really-” she stopped in the middle of answering, her body trying to rise off the bed into Vex when her lips moved from kissing her mouth to the length of her throat. She kissed all down the line of her pulse. She felt the tickle of Vex chuckling against her collarbone and Keyleth had to remember what she’d been saying. “I- I think about a man,” she didn’t specify who, even if they both knew. “And sometimes I do. T-touch myself that is.” 

“Do you ever think about a woman?” Vex asked, sitting up a little bit to untie the side of Keyleth’s robes. Her fingers were deft and made very short work of it, Keyleth cooperating to shrug out of fabric to be just as naked as the woman above her. 

“Not in a long time. Sometimes?” It was embarrassing to talk about and she covered her face with her hands.

“Keyleth, please don’t hide,” Vex asked, the hard edge of her commanding voice gone and her hands soft when she pulled her hands away from her face. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, there’s nothing wrong with any of that. I just want give you something you would like. Would you prefer if I traded places with Percy? If I fucked you like a man?”

“You can do that?” Keyleth’s eyes widened, her eyes darting down to the distinct lack of penis at Vex’s hips. 

Vex laughed, the sound rich as the wine they’d been drinking, leaning back. “Yes darling. Percy can you get the strap on for me? Just so she can know what I’m talking about. Also why are you wearing so much clothing still?”

He laughed softly and set a wine glass down. “Just enjoying the show, love.” 

Keyleth hadn’t forgotten he was in the room, keenly aware of someone else watching her with Vex. But she trusted them both without any doubt, neither of them would do something to intentionally hurt her so Percy’s presence was as welcome as Vex’s. 

“What do you think of with a woman?” Vex asked, then continued when Keyleth just looked confused. “What do you like when you touch yourself? Do you start slow, teasing yourself?”

Still kneeling above her and Keyleth on her back on the bed, Vex ran her hands down her own chest to her breasts, thumbs grazing the nipple. They were already half risen and the brush of her thumb brought them to a point. The warmth in Keyleth’s stomach came to sharp point somewhat lower and she squirmed just a little, breath catching in her chest. 

“Do you want to touch?” Vex said, her voice soft and low in invitation. “Or do you want me to touch you?” 

“Yes.”

Vex bent and kissed her sternum between each breasts, her hands moving to cup the shallow curve of Keyleth’s breasts, just enough to fill the curve of her palm. She gasped as the thumb on one side twirled around the nipple, and she made a noise when Vex’s mouth closed around the other. Her tongue was impossibly warm against the sensitive skin, and Keyleth’s back arched to try and get closer. She raised her hands to bury them in Vex’s hair, breathing rapidly. 

She hadn’t forgotten Percy so much as forgotten everything in the room other than the sensation of Vex’s mouth, but she was startled by a sound close to her head on the opposite side of the bed from Vex. Percy had shed his coat and was unbuttoning his shirt with the vest open, his body still had a lean, hard shape to it, softened slightly by age and no longer adventuring. But he still made a very attractive man. He’d set something on the bed, initially a confusing collection of straps and buckles until her eyes found a familiar looking shape of a penis in the middle of it all.

Vex’s mouth had come off her breast to follow the line of her sight, leaving a shocking and cold damp spot. 

“Wh-what do you use that for?” Keyleth asked, tempted to touch it but her hands didn’t seem ready to leave where she was clinging to Vex’s hair. 

“Fucking my husband, mostly,” Vex answered between soft little kisses on Keyleth’s shoulders. “Do you want more?” 

Even if she wasn’t certain how that would work, Keyleth was certain she didn’t want Vex to stop touching her, not yet. She nodded, relaxing her hands in Vex’s hair before pulling her up to kiss. Vex made an approving noise and kissed her back, tongue teasing against hers. Vex shifted her weight though and Keyleth moaned into her mouth with her fingers pressed against the damp, red curls between her legs. She parted her legs for Vex without even thinking about it, more than ready to open herself up to her, her body aching for someone to touch her. 

Her fingers were light at first, grazing down into dark red hair and cupping the shape of her mound so that Keyleth could get used to the feel of someone else’s hand there. But Keyleth didn’t want to get used to it. She writhed beneath Vex, trying to angle her hips for more of her hand. 

“Alright, alright darling,” Vex laughed against her mouth and lowered herself to suck on the opposite nipple. 

It was completely different than when her own hand was down there, Keyleth’s hips moved of their own accord, grinding onto Vex’s hand until she was starting to see stars. But it wasn’t quite enough and she didn’t know how to articulate that she wanted more. 

Vex’s head rose with a popping noise and she caught and commanded Keyleth’s gaze, cutting through the stars and the haze with her presence alone. “Keyleth. Darling. What’s my name?” 

Keyleth gasped when one of her fingers teased her clit, writhing for more but being denied. “Vex. Oh Vex, please.” 

“See? You’ve figured it out,” Vex kissed her neck as her fingers went back to bringing Keyleth to the edge of the cliff and over.

She came hard, hands gripping the blankets and a wordless, obscene noise on her tongue and lips. If the point was to remember Vex’s name, the point was completely moot; for a few seconds Keyleth couldn’t even remember her own name. Her back arched off the bed and her legs closed on Vex’s hand and she just rocked into the feeling of being touched by someone else. When she had control over her arms, Keyleth grabbed Vex by the braid and pulled her into a kiss until she couldn’t breathe. 

Vex grinned down at her, all flushed in the face and breathing just as hard as she was. 

“See? I’ve never known you to be bad at anything you’ve tried to do, Keyleth,” Vex said, quiet against the skin on her shoulder, kissing several freckles. “Except cliff diving perhaps.” 

Keyleth laughed, coming back down to Exandria one breath at a time. She couldn’t help but feel she hadn’t really done much. 

“Darling, come over here and kiss me,” Vex sat up, still kneeling over Keyleth. 

Percy stepped into the space behind Vex who leaned to twist and kiss him, her body drawing into a long, artistic line. There was a moment Keyleth wasn’t sure if she should be shy with Percy naked and his legs close against hers, but looking at Vex and the thrill still filling her made her bold instead. She sat up and kissed Vex’s breasts, working in a teasing spiral to reach the nipple. Keyleth was rewarded with a sound muffled against Percy’s mouth and, emboldened by the vocal encouragement, pressed a hand against the inside of Vex’ahlia’s thigh where she was already slick and damp. 

“Mnn ready for more already?” Vex asked, her fingers pulling on Percy’s hair to prevent him moving from precisely where she wanted him. 

Someone knocked on the door and the voice of a servant carried through the heavy wooden door. “Milady? Milord? Your daughter is requesting a bedtime story.”

All three of them froze in place, turning in unison to look at the door. Vex stifled a laugh by biting her lips to keep the sound from travelling too far. Percy kissed her shoulder thrice and released her only after making certain that she was not going to fall over without his support. 

“I shall leave you two ladies to enjoy the afterglow,” he said, kissing Vex one more time. He paused, eyes on Keyleth for a moment before speaking again. “Keyleth, thank you for being open to our proposal. If there is no objection another time I would be delighted to join you.”

Vex winked at him. “It’s up for debate, darling.”

Keyleth laughed, delighted as always by the way they bantered between one another. Though she tried to sound just as serious as Vex, there was laughter in her voice when she responded, “Your application has been received.” 

Percy dressed himself and when he spoke it was for the servant waiting on the other side of the door, buttoning his shirt. “I’ll be there shortly, thank you.”

After the door closed behind him, Vex pushed Keyleth onto her back and lay down on her side beside her, hooking one knee over her legs. 

“Vex?” Keyleth turned her head, rubbing the leg draped across her with her hand. 

“Mmm,” the other half-elf responded, soft against her side. 

“Do you want me to- um, touch you?” Keyleth asked. She was still boneless after her orgasm and so content to lay against Vex’s body like this forever. 

“No, no this is fine, darling. We’ll move on to teaching you what to do so you don’t dive off this cliff and get scared or hurt,” Vex said, reaching up to wind her fingers into Keyleth’s hair. 

Keyleth felt a surge of warmth for Vex’ahlia that had nothing to do with having an orgasm. She turned and kissed Vex again, settling in a tangle of arms and legs and the warm softness of her friend. 

“Will you show me how that works next time?” Keyleth asked, nodding toward the false phallus and the complicated straps attached to it. 

Vex settled against her as well, stroking Keyleth’s hip in time with her breathing. “Your application has been received.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I really wanted to name this "In which Keyleth gets the 'Hunter's Mark'" with the subtitle "the hunter's mark is a hickey"; so now you know the secret REAL title.


End file.
